Never Alone
by dinolove453
Summary: It’s been nearly a year since they lost the pants. Lena is going to France, Carmen is staying in Maryland, Bridget is on her way to Argentina and Tibby… is a very confused chica. BridgetEric TibbyBrian CarmenOC Lena?
1. Back to Bethesda

Never Alone

Summary: It's been nearly a year since they lost the pants. Lena is going to France, Carmen is staying in Maryland, Bridget is on her way to Argentina and Tibby… is a very confused chica. BridgetEric TibbyBrian CarmenOC Lena?

Ch. 1 Return to Bethesda

A young woman, nearly twenty, ran through the busy streets in Bethesda. Her long blonde hair trailed behind her, causing frequent stares, mostly from men and boys. But the girl didn't care. She had to get there before her friends got _pissed_. Luckily, the woman was a good runner, thanks to years upon years of playing soccer.

She sprinted over to a building, seemingly deserted, and jumped. Down came the fire escape, and she quickly climbed up it and stumbled into the room it lead to, where three other woman around her age were sitting in a circle with candles lit.

Bridge panted, "Sorry I'm late, guys, but my train only _just_ got in."

One girl, half Hispanic, shrugged and said, "It's okay Bee."

"Yeah, we were just chewing on gummy worms and waiting around," another one, with long hair and a smirk on her face, laughed.

Finally a last one, with a camera in her hand and her eyes rolling, shrugged, "Well, I was just taping them chewing on gummy worms."

The blonde laughed. She took her usual place in the circle, and bit down on a gummy worm.

Bridget had changed little over the past year. Eric and she were still going strong, and he was coming with her this summer to Argentina. At the beginning of the year, to supplement her archaeology major Bridget had been taking a paleontology class, and found that she loved that even more than she loved archaeology. Bridget changed her major and signed on for a dig in Argentina over the summer. She couldn't wait to see if she could find some of the largest dinosaurs such as Argentinosaurus… earliest dinosaurs like Eoraptor… even some creatures from the late Permian, like Gorgonops. Eric was tagging along because he "had nothing better to do this summer, and didn't want to be separated from her like last summer." Bridget couldn't wait to see what she could find of the distant past, although she would probably only find a few little bones or even nothing unless she was _really_ lucky.

Carmen had also changed little, except she had gone back to her former self rather than returning to her invisible state. She began pursuing acting, but as a hobby rather than a career choice (where her career choice was and always would be journalism.) She ditched Julia and made some other friends on campus; Maggie (known as Mags,) Leah, Mark and Dan. Maggie was a writer, like her, but more of a novelist than a journalist. She was writing books, but was also majoring in history to be a history teacher at the same time (she knew better than anyone that writing could _not_ really support you unless you wrote something as popular as Harry Potter.) Lea was an artist, like Lena, but she drew Anime and such, and was making up her own magna book while taking Japanese Art courses. Mark was a chemist, and a good one at that, and Carmen practically had to _drag_ him out of the lab to hang out. Finally, Dan was probably the nicest guy Carmen had ever met. He was brilliant at Math, and was planning on becoming a Chaotician, or a mathematician who dealt especially with chaos and the chaos theory. Carmen was sometimes overwhelmed by his intelligence, Dan was pretty much a genius, but she still loved to hang out with him. And Dan, unlike Mark, came out of the math buildings a very healthy amount.

Lena was still working hard in her art. She planned to be a High School art teacher, but also wanted to paint and sketch her own stuff. She was going to France this summer to view some real art and get a real cultural experience. Lena had finally managed to semi-forget Kostos, even after what had happened at the end of the last summer. She had broken it of with Leo, too, but they did keep in touch as friends and occasionally messed around (she didn't let anyone else know about that, though.) Leo was going to France as well, but Lena told him that it was going to stay in that friends-with-benefits state. She hoped that Leo would be okay with it, and felt sure that he was. Tibby had offered to come with her, she needed to film something exotic over the summer, but Lena didn't really want people to know that she was messing around with someone uncommitted so much, and that occasionally still she imagined that it was Kostos.

Tibby was… Tibby. She had worked hard during the school year to make up for her incomplete last summer, and was nearly finished, she just needed to make a small film over the summer. At first, Tibby had jumped at the chance to go to France and film, but now… now she was not so sure. Tibby decided she would look around and decide, but she _definitely_ wasn't going to go around filming Bethesda. Brian told her he would be with her, whatever she decided. Brian… Tibby couldn't help but be confused around him. Sure, they hadn't gone back to the innocence, that was impossible. However, they could have gone back to the bliss… but they didn't. Brian was on his guard. Tibby had hurt him too much, and now Tibby had to suffer. But she would make up for it all this summer… oh yes; she would, no matter what.

Bridget crossed her legs uneasily and nodded at everyone, "Well, even though the pants are nonexistent, I believe that we all know the drill. We still have to write to each other regularly. We still have to communicate. We still have to meet up at the end of the summer and relive details. We still have to… damn! Most of the rules were based around the pants," Bridget sighed, "So… what else?"

"How about, when we send a letter, we send along a little object or picture or something that symbolizes what happened that we're writing about in the letter, and at the end of the summer we will collect all those objects and pictures and put them together in a box, and label the box 'Summer 2008?'" Lena asked cheerfully.

"Yeah! I love that idea!" Carmen squealed. Bridget nodded eagerly, and Tibby smirked.

"So it's settled then. Well… I guess we should probably go," Lena sighed, "I've got a flight to Paris tomorrow."

"Yeah, I've got to get packing. What does one _wear_ to Argentina, exactly?" Bridget raised an eyebrow.

"Who knows?" Tibby shrugged, "I've got to get started deciding on where to go. Maybe California. Or… ooh! Italy!"

"Where are you going to get the cash?" Carmen laughed.

"If I let you come with us, you can help pay, rich chick," Tibby smirked. Carmen shrugged.

"I would, but you're trying to fix things with Brian, and I'd just get in the way," Carmen laughed.

"Thanks for your money support," Tibby sighed sarcastically. Carmen had gotten a lot of money from working in various localized productions of Shakespearian plays.

"I'll loan you some money, chica, if you promise that you will go to Italy, it's so romantic there," Bridget laughed.

"You don't exactly have money to spare," Tibby laughed.

"Actually, I do. My Dad paid me way more than he needed to for this trip to Argentina, and Eric is bringing a lot of money too. I can give you plenty," Bridget nodded.

"Well… thanks! That would actually be really great," Tibby grinned.

"Well, now we're all doing something interesting this summer except _you_, Carmabelle," Lena looked evilly over at Carmen.

"Yeah, so? I plan to wallow in my own filth, thanks," Carmen laughed.

"You might not want to do that," Bridget smirked, "Until _after_ you hear my little 'proposition' for you."

"Really? Do tell," Carmen sat up eagerly.

"There is one thing that you do not have in common with the rest of us, my friend," Bridget began.

"What? That I'm not a white chick?" Carmen laughed.

"_No_," Bridget sighed, and then turned to Lena and Tibby, "Guys, do you know what I'm talking about?"

Tibby, looking confused, shook her head. Lena looked towards the sky for a moment, then her face got a look of apprehension on it and she nodded eagerly, grinning evilly at Carmen.

"Is it," then Lena whispered something into Bridget's ear. Bridget nodded, smirking.

"I'll tell poor Tibby," Lena laughed, for Tibby still looked horribly confused. But that was nothing next to Carmen, who was groaning in an urgent need to know. When Lena got done telling Tibby, Tibby burst out laughing.

"That's right! Time for Carmen to jump on this bandwagon! Just don't go into it too hastily, Carma, if you do you will be scarred," Tibby smirked.

"Here's my proposition for you, Carmen. At the end of the summer, I will bake all the birthday cakes, one for each of us, if you do this. If you don't do this by the end of the summer, _you'll_ have to bake all the birthday cakes. Deal?" Bridget grinned.

"Sure," Carmen shrugged, "what is it?"

"You have to loose your virginity."

SOTTP

Carmen had protested out the wazoo. She cried and told them no, how the hell could she do that, she wasn't some sort of slut. The other three girls then argued back that they weren't sluts either, and that if they could figure it out she certainly could.

So Carmen was trapped, and she _definitely_ did not want to have to bake four birthday cakes.

Lena had left early in the morning, and Carmen and Tibby were sitting on Bee's bed, watching her pack for Argentina.

"So… hmm… should I bring this?" Bridget held up a very thick dinosaur book (let's just say that in her tomboyishness as a child, she also was somewhat… dinosaur… obsessed.)

"If you can fit it, Bee, be my guest," Tibby laughed, "You'll probably need it on this trip."

Bridget grinned and stuffed the book into her backpack. She zipped up her suitcase and looked around her room.

"Well, I guess I'd better call Eric. He said he would come pick me up, our flight is tonight," Bridget sighed.

"We'll miss you, Bee. Don't let those old skeletons eat you," Tibby laughed.

"Yes, and don't let Eric distract you from those old skeletons, either," Carmen laughed. Bee smirked at them both.

"Tibby, did you tell Brian about you idea yet?" Carmen continued to ask. Tibby nodded.

"He was all for it. Little does he know that this won't only be a movie extravaganza, it will be the most romantic summer of his life," Tibby grinned evilly, "I'm going to fix this.

Carmen rolled her eyes, "Good luck with that."

Tibby and Bee turned to Carmen, smirking at her. Carmen looked up, "What??"

"How are you planning to fulfill your duties this summer?" Bridget laughed.

"I have no clue, I'll check in when I'm a little closer, like I've been on a date, alright?" Carmen snarled, still angry that she was being put through this.

"Okay, okay, geesh, don't be so defensive," Bridget shrugged. So did Tibby. Carmen sighed, groaned and laid back on the bed. This was going to be a long summer.


	2. France

Ch. 2 France

Lena sat next to Leo on the plane. He was next to the window, and clearly asleep. It was actually relatively amusing, because he was snoring loudly. Lena giggled and rolled her eyes at the napping golden-skinned man beside her. He was a really good friend, she knew she was lucky enough for that, not to mention a _really_ good kisser and _really really_ good in… you know.

The one problem with all that was, of course, the fact that she wasn't committed to him. Except for friendly feelings and the occasional strong bursts of uncontrollable lust, Lena didn't feel anything for him. This was, of course, why she broke up with him, but still stayed friends-with-benefits. If her Dad were to find out about this, there would be murdering (of him first, then her.) Then again, if her Dad were to find out that he was her only company to France, there would be even more bloodshed. Or, really, if her Dad were to find out that they had had sex not once but multiple times…

Lena could not let her Dad find out. There would be death.

All her family knew was that Leo was her close friend (hey, that was true) and he was coming with her to France, not mentioning that he was the _only_ person coming with her to France. They didn't question anything else about him, and she was glad.

Lena rolled her eyes one last time at Leo's snoring, and decided to nap herself.

SOTTP

When Lena woke up, Leo was gently nudging her. Lena, startled, looked up and around wildly.

"Calm down! We're just almost there, I was told to wake you up," Leo explained, smirking at her.

"Oh," Lena nodded, sitting attentively.

"Nice nap?" Leo asked conversationally.

"It was okay. I had a dream where my Dad was getting somewhat angry at me, but hey, there you go," Lena shrugged.

"Why was your Dad mad at you?" Leo asked, laughing.

"He found out that you were my only traveling companion," Lena laughed. Leo rolled his eyes.

"Your Dad," he murmured, suddenly kissing Lena's neck, "needs to lighten up."

Lena felt uncomfortable. This wasn't one of those bouts of lust that she had been talking about.

"Possibly," Lena shrugged, looking away and hopefully at the flight attendant. She told everyone to fasten their seat belts, and Lena did it in a relieved manner. She wasn't _always_ in the mood, contrary to popular belief.

Leo sensed this and stopped kissing her neck, moving away slightly. Lena sighed.

"Sorry, Leo, for some reason I'm not in the mood," Lena shrugged.

"It's cool," Leo smirked, "When we get to Paris, you will be."

"What makes you say that?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

Leo laughed, "You'll see."

They left the plane together, and Lena took forever finding her luggage. Leo was just laughing as Lena checked each bag that happened to look exactly like hers, until she finally found it after checking thirteen different bags. Leo was laughing his head off.

Lena kicked him in the shin playfully as they walked outside together. Lena's breath then proceeded to catch in her throat.

Everything was beautiful. The Eiffel, the river, the bustling people all speaking French, the music in the air, the bustle… Lena, wide-eyed, looked at everything in awe and excitement. Leo was rolling his eyes, smirking at her.

"Sorry, it's just… overwhelmingly beautiful," Lena laughed, looking over at Leo.

Leo shrugged, looking up towards the sky.

"I told you so," he laughed. Lena smirked at him, "So, when have you been here before?"

"My Mom took me when I was fifteen," Leo nodded, "She had gotten a big deal for her pottery and we came here to celebrate. It was lots of fun."

"Cool," Lena laughed, "Well, where are we staying, exactly?"

"Follow me," Leo nodded. They ran together through the crowded streets, Lena realizing that you could fall in love with just about _anyone_ in this place.

SOTTP

They had a one bedroom suite, but Leo had already called the couch (he said he was too nice of a guy to be selfish.) Lena put her stuff neatly in the room, set up her easel, and looked around her. She heard Leo doing similar activities outside her room.

Lena thus proceeded to open her window and stare out onto the darkened street below. She saw how the whole city was still lit even at night, how people were walking around and laughing, she saw the brightly lit Eiffel Tower and felt somewhat overwhelmed. What would she paint first? She couldn't even decide. Everything around her was too beautiful for words.

She heard a knock on her door and affirmed that entry was alright. Leo walked in, and smirked at her again.

"Geez, you don't get out much do you?" Leo laughed.

"I do, just never to France," Lena retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Well, okay," Leo chuckled, "So, where do you want to go first tomorrow?"

"The Eiffel Tower," Lena said immediately. Leo nodded.

"I've wanted to sketch it forever," he affirmed, "but haven't really gotten the chance."

"Well, it's settled. Tomorrow we go to the Eiffel," Lena nodded.

Leo leaned over and pecked her on the cheek. Lena smiled at him and murmured good night.

Leo turned to leave and closed the door behind him. Lena sighed and sat down on her bed.

She wished she could just conjure up the lust at will, but she couldn't.

SOTTP

The next morning Lena walked through the suite and ordered room service. She was tired, starving and a little moody. Leo was still asleep on the couch, blankets tightly wrapped around him. Lena shrugged and sat on the kitchen counter, looking around her as she waited for the room service, AKA pancakes.

When it finally came, Lena dug in and watched Leo sleep. He looked so peaceful, but something else was wrong. He also looked torn in his sleep.

Lena needed to sketch this, sketch the current desperate look on Leo's face. She sprinted to her room, grabbed her sketch pad, and ran back.

She slowly began to gently draw his face, working inch by inch to try and capture the look he was wearing. It was slow work, she knew, but she had to go fast before he woke up and the look was gone.

When she was satisfied with his face, Lena moved on to sketch the intricate way the sheets were curled around him, the way his body had grotesquely twisted in the middle of the night, his bare feet barely emerging from the bundle and his toes moving cautiously in his sleep. Lena gently and slowly sketched everything, shading areas of him that were particularly dark, trying to get his personality and pain into the sketch. She didn't know why he looked so distressed in his sleep; all she knew was that she had to convey it into the picture.

When she finally finished and admired her work, Leo stirred. Lena quickly hid her sketchbook and went back over to her now-cold pancakes. It was rather late in the morning, 10:07.

Leo sat up and stretched, looking over at Lena. Lena smiled back at him, rolling her eyes.

"Wow, I feel refreshed. What time is it?" Leo asked, yawning.

"A little after ten, sleepyhead," Lena smirked.

"Wow," Leo repeated, walking over to Lena and steeling a bit of pancake. As Lena let out shouts of protest, Leo noticed her sketchbook lying on the floor. He walked over and picked it up.

"Not like you to leave things lying around, little Lena," Leo laughed, and then opened to the end. His eyes widened when he saw the recently completed sketch, and he looked up at Lena and back down at the drawing again.

"S-See? That's how fast you were asleep, L-Leo. You totally didn't n-notice I was drawing you," Lena affirmed nervously.

Leo looked back over at her, "This is really good, Lena."

Lena smiled and shrugged, "Thanks." She suddenly realized that the ever popular lustful feeling was back, and stood up.

"No, seriously. Is this how I look when I sleep?" Leo raised his eyebrows. Lena walked over to him and kissed him softly on the lips, surprising him somewhat.

Lena pulled away and nodded, her eyebrows raised, "Yes."

Leo pulled her in for another kiss.

SOTTP

They left the suite later that afternoon, sketchbooks in hand, eagerly going down to the Eiffel tower together to sketch what they saw, and probably just talk.

Lena still had shaky legs from before. They had done it many times, but never like _that_. She was still recovering, and she could tell Leo had been amazed too. Everything in her world was spinning, her lustful side had gone out of control and she was starting to become dysfunctional.

Lena thought back to when they really _were_ dating. She remembered how around that time Kostos had come and, again, shattered her world. Why was it whenever she was starting to pull herself together again, Kostos came and ruined everything? She probably wouldn't have broken up with Leo if Kostos hadn't come back on the scene, or at least wouldn't have broken up with him so soon. She definitely was having second thoughts _now_.

Lena looked around her as they slowly walked up to the Eiffel tower. She knew the second she affirmed that she wanted to be back together with Leo, Kostos would show up. But Lena was ready to risk it. What she had just done with him just an hour ago proved it to her, proved that she was ready.

They quickly got to the top of the tower, Lena still feeling shaky around the legs. Leo pulled out his sketchbook, but didn't start to draw anything. He just stared around. Lena followed suit, looking over at him in questioning.

"When I came here with my Mom," Leo began, his voice soft, "She took me up here, to this very spot, and gave me a message that I've always remembered. She told me, 'Son, one day you won't be living with me anymore, or if you are, you will be mostly on your own. You will meet many different people, some of whom you'll probably care about very much. If you ever meet someone, whether a girl or a boy, and you feel this way about them that makes you tingle and whenever you see them, you're happy, and you'll settle for anything if you can just be around them, promise me this: that you will take care of that special person, and you will love them to the best of your ability, because that's what they deserve," Leo looked over at Lena, placing his hands on the sides of her face.

"Lena," he murmured softly, "I love you."

Lena felt a swooping sensation soar through her stomach. She looked back at him, and said in all honesty, "I love you too."

Leo brought her face towards his, and kissed her softly. Lena melted into his embrace, but pulled back suddenly when she heard a horribly familiar voice cry out, "Lena???"


	3. Argentina

Ch. 3 Argentina

Bridget got off the plane, her bag slung over her shoulder. The sun was sweltering hot; the small number of people there looked as excited as she was. Eric was smirking, looking around.

"Wow. Wonder where we are?" he joked. Bridget punched him playfully in the arm.

"In Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina, silly," Bridget sighed, "Get with the program."

"Fine, Fine," Eric gently kissed her neck. Bridget blushed and giggled. He gently massaged her arm, his hot breath on her shoulder.

"Seriously, Eric, even though _you're_ here on vacation, _I'm_ here for my career, and believe it or not some seriously important paleontologists are going to be on this dig," Bridget smirked.

"Well, I'll be the one embarrassing you, so you have nothing to be worried about," Eric mumbled.

"Dude, that made _no_ sense," Bridget laughed. Just then, a man in his late forties/ early fifties walked up, along with another man in his late thirties.

"Hello, you must be Bridget Vreeland," the older of the two stuck out his hand, "I'm Paul Sereno, and you know this one," the man smirked at the other man, Bridget's paleontology professor, Professor Warwick. He was a bumbling, fearful young man, and he nodded at Bridget.

"H-hi," Bridget smiled uncontrollably, Paul Sereno was like a paleontology rock star.

"And who is this?" he moved on to Eric.

"That's my boyfriend, Eric Richman," Bridget nodded, "He's coming with me, if that's okay…"

"Sure," Sereno nodded. A few more people walked up, all looking as in awe of Paul as she was. One wasn't, however. She was a girl, about Bridget's age, with long thick brown hair, hazel eyes and a smirk on her face. She rolled her eyes.

"Ah yes, this is Meg," Paul nodded at the girl, "She's studying paleontology at the University I work at, and therefore we consult each other often. I invited her on this trip to help her with her coursework."

"Hey," Meg laughed, holding out her hand for Bridget to shake. She did, startled by the fact that Meg's eyes turned from a delicate hazel to a light brown, "Eventually the shock of meeting him wears off."

Bridget laughed in turn. She knew she was going to like it here immediately.

SOTTP

The next day they all set out in jeeps across the steppes. Paul was talking to everyone, either in his car or on a radio with the other car. On the dig there was Paul, Professor Warwick, another professor from University of California Professor Sincerest, Bridget, Eric, Meg, two other college students and two graduate students. In Bridget's car was Bridget, Eric, Meg, Paul Sereno and a graduate student named Scott. The car bumbled along over rocky terrain, causing Bridget to feel very, very ill. But she was the least of it. Eric looked twice as ill as she did. Meg, Paul and Scot on the other hand just looked annoyed.

_Was this how _all_ terrain felt?_ Bridget asked herself painfully. The jeep continued on through the desert, and Paul began to talk as he drove.

"So we're going to a spot near Bariloche, where a local has reported seeing bones. Now, no one get their hopes up, a lot of calls we get from locals turn out to be nothing, but we'll see," Paul nodded.

Bridget nodded eagerly. She was ready to do this. Sure, it wouldn't be going across a dirt floor, but it was as near to it as possible- she was coming the dirt ground for bones. She probably wouldn't be able to do it the same way that she had done in Turkey, but she would be the most observant girl on the team- she just knew it.

Meg would definitely be the most scientific; she knew that immediately as well. Eric would probably be the person running around and doing various errands, he had no clue what was going on. But Bridget loved him for his ignorance.

The jeep finally pulled up to an empty patch of steppe next to a small house and farm. Bridget shakily got out of the jeep, and Eric held onto her arm for support as he too got out. Bridget smirked at him, and Eric rolled his eyes back at her.

Meg laughed at them both as they walked over to the small hut, Paul leading the way. They continued walking even as the other jeep pulled up, their sneakers stomping against the hard, caked earth. Briefly, Bridget wondered how they were going to find _anything_ in all this.

Paul walked up to the hut and knocked. Bridget looked back at Eric and saw that he was napping on her shoulder. Bridget smirked and rolled her eyes at Meg.

"Not into paleontology, huh?" Meg laughed, indicating Eric's lack of enthusiasm.

Bridget shook her head, "He came along because I was on an archaeology dig to Turkey last summer, so he wanted to be with me this summer."

"Aww," Meg laughed, "So cute."

Bridget smirked and smiled. She looked back to the napping boy on her shoulder, and rolled her eyes.

"Eric! Eric! Wake up, muchacho!" Bridget laughed. Eric stirred and stood up, looking over at her in dismay.

"I was having a good nap!" he whined. Bridget shoved him playfully. Eric glared at her.

"Okay you two calm yourselves before Paul gets back," Meg hissed. Both nodded and stood at attention, like in a Military School, making Meg laugh.

"You goofs," and then Paul came back.

"Well, he'll show us tomorrow, it's getting too late. We'll need to set up the tents and such," Paul nodded. Everyone got to work, unpacking boxes and putting up tents. Bridget, soon exhausted, ate a bit of soup and crawled into the tent she was sharing with Eric (she had brought along her own especially for this purpose.) Before Eric even came in, she was asleep.

SOTTP

Bridget woke up the next morning to sweltering hot sun and Eric gently trailing kisses up her arm. Bridget at first didn't stir, wondering vaguely why he was kissing her so nicely, trying to fall back to sleep.

"Come on, sleepyhead," Eric murmured softly, "I think we have to get up now."

Bridget groaned and rolled over, but right on top of Eric. She smirked at him, kissed the tip of his nose, and continued rolling until she was off him.

"Fine," she sighed, "I'll get up. But you'll be sorry!" Bridget laughed. Eric rolled his eyes and pulled her into his arms.

"Let's just wait until they call us," he murmured softly. Bridget rolled her eyes, but allowed him to continue kissing her, not really caring what was going on in the outside world as she seemingly lost all of her senses.


End file.
